Collaborative design: a learner-centered library planning approach

 Somerville, Mary M. & Collins, Lydia. (2008).  Collaborative design: A learner-centered planning approach.  The Electronic Library, 26(6): 803-820.

Summary: 

Information commons were introduced in libraries in the early 1990's.  The goal of information commons was the manipulation and mastery of information.  However, libraries (particularly science & technology libraries) are not longer just used for the purpose of finding information.  Users are now accustomed to all modes of digital technology, and have certain expectations about the library's environment.  Technology now plays an important role in both the information-seeking and overall learning experience.  Many university libraries now include learning commons, which provide students with the resources and tools needed to complete simple to advanced tasks. They bring people together, "not around informally shared interests as happens in traditional common rooms, but around shared learning tasks, sometimes formalized in class assignments".  Learning commons allow for both technology and social interaction to contribute to the learning experience.  They also foster collaboration between students, library staff and faculty.

During library design (or redesign), users are often consulted via surveys or other studies.  User-centered design was taken to a new level when Cal Poly Pomona decided to take a collaborative approach with students in the Learning Commons planning process.  This article identifies this trend as collaborative design, or co-design.

The founding Learning Commons Partners consisted of ten library leaders, information technologists, and pedagogy experts who forged a partnership.  The co-design approach was developed and evaluated through an 18-month study involving librarians, students, and professors at Cal Poly.  The founders established the two following purposes for the Learning Commons:

(1) provide technological infrastructure, pedagogy and technology expertise, and
information resources and consultation to enable faculty innovation and
curriculum revitalization; and
(2) encourage application of constructivist principles to advance students’
information, communication, and technology proficiencies for lifelong learning.

When the Learning Commons opened, students participating in the study were allowed to bring their library design ideas to the table, supervised by faculty sponsors.  The students eployed user-centric research methodologies to identify learning commons enhancements. By observing students, the founders wanted to find out:

(1) How do students study/learn? How do they solve problems?
(2) How do students use technology and share information?
(3) How do students produce content and “make knowledge”?

However, upon observation, students' work suggested that the commons also needed to:

• promote cross-disciplinary inquiry and discourse; and

• create an inclusive, interactive learning community.

Other features the students wished to see included a "virtual" commons, which they modeled using 3-D technology. They also wanted different types of multimedia enhancements.  As opposed to the founders' preference for creating spaces designed to advance the students' formal learning activities, the students wished to have a mix of formal and information spaces, including a coffee shop and leisure and gaming opportunities.  Once the study was complete, the findings of the study were reviewed to identify potential further enhancements for the Learning Commons.

My Thoughts: 

I think that while this is a rare example of how users can be involved in the planning process (most libraries don't have millions to spend), it shows how important it is to consider their perspective.  The founding Learning Commons Partners were all very experienced and knowledgeable people. But they lacked the insight into what exactly students felt was necessary for an ideal learning space. As we have seen through our coursework, science is very interdisciplinary. It is natural that students from different backgrounds may end up working together.  By giving the students tools that allow them to be creative and combine their knowledge and talents, the Learning Commons provides them with memorable learning experiences.

I think that other methods could be employed when a library is considering providing or updating a learning commons.  In addition to student surveys, students could be observed to see if certain areas of the library (or even the university campus) are more popular than others.  It would also be helpful to set up some of the technology that the library is considering purchasing on a trial basis to see if it is actually used and whether students like it.  Taking users into account will ensure that the final design is well-used and the money is well-spent.